If you're looking to conceive and live in an area where pesticides are used, it might be time to relocate.
University of Arizona researchers discovered that pesticides are associated with stillbirths in the first trimester of pregnancy and during the preconception period during which the human egg matures, typically 90 days prior to conception.
What's happening?
Pesticides are chemicals that repel, control, or kill pests, such as weeds, insects, fungi, or rodents.
The U of A Health Sciences shared an article, based on the paper "Pre-Conception And First Trimester Exposure To Pesticides And Associations With Stillbirth," published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, that found living within .31 miles from pesticide usage increases the risk of stillbirths.
"Exposure to acephate in the first trimester was associated with a doubling of risk," said Dr. Paloma Beamer, a study co-author and a professor and interim associate dean at the Zuckerman College of Public Health. "Within the pyrethroid class, cyfluthrin exposure during the 90 days prior to conception almost doubled the risk of stillbirth."
The study used Arizona pesticide use records for 27 pesticides and cross-referenced them with state birth certificate data from 2006-20, which included 1,237,750 births and 2,290 stillbirths.
Why is pesticide awareness important?
Knowledge is power and in this case, learning how these chemicals affect our health is crucial to moving forward and making better choices. While the EPA notes that exposure is often too small to pose a risk, studies such as this one contradict that statement.
Exposure is typically through diet, but with pesticides commonly used in the home, garden, agriculture, and on animals, there are other significant pathways.
What's being done about pesticides?
While the EPA claims there are too many pesticide formulas to check them all for toxins, these chemicals are being sprayed onto our food, over our soil, and into the air. CNN reported that 17 major food manufacturers earned an average grade of F for their lack of progress in reducing pesticide usage in their products.
With agriculture leaning heavily on poison with no consequences other than our health, demand for proper regulation and change is needed now more than ever — because just rinsing your produce isn't going to cut it.
Knowing where to buy and how to clean produce is important. It also might be worth considering starting a garden to grow your own food.
There are safer and healthier options to control pests and weeds that avoid dangerous chemicals and cost less money. Natural methods like boiling water, wood chips, vinegar, and mosquito-repelling plants are equally successful and much easier on the environment.
"This study underscores the need to develop strategies for mitigating exposure to protect maternal and fetal health," said first author Melissa Furlong, PhD, assistant professor and environmental epidemiologist at the Zuckerman College of Public Health.
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